A status certificate is the financial and legal snapshot an Ontario condo corporation must produce for anyone who requests it, disclosing everything a buyer needs to know before closing on a unit.
The Condominium Authority of Ontario confirms “Anyone can request a status certificate.” Corporations “can charge up to $100 including all applicable taxes to provide it” and “must provide them within 10 days.”
What it discloses, per the same source: the current declaration, by-laws and rules; the current fiscal year's budget, the last annual audited financial statements and the auditor's report; a statement on the most recent reserve fund study and the state of the reserve fund; common expenses for the unit and any arrears; any increase in common expenses and why; any special assessment charged to the unit since the current budget and why; names and addresses for service of directors and officers; a certificate of insurance for all current policies; and whether there are outstanding legal judgments or ongoing litigation against the corporation.
The disclosure duty isn't just a courtesy list — it is legally enforced. The Condominium Authority notes a court decision establishing that a corporation must clearly disclose that it might need to levy assessments on owners in their status certificate, which is exactly why a lawyer reviewing the certificate treats a vague or missing assessment section as a red flag worth chasing before the condition period runs out, not an oversight to assume away.
A buyer's lawyer reviews a status certificate obtained for the $100-capped fee within the corporation's 10-day deadline and flags three items: common-expense arrears on the specific unit, mention of ongoing litigation against the corporation, and a reserve-fund statement showing the fund below the level its most recent reserve fund study recommended. Any one of those is grounds to renegotiate or walk away before the certificate-review condition expires.
See also: Special assessment · Reserve fund study · Common expenses
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